Dillenger (Queensland) design and manufacture electric bicycles and conversion kits. Right now they have a sale on a number of items, but the stand-out is the less than half price Cheetah electric folding bicycle. The reason they have this one so low right now is so they can get them out there riding and being mobile advertisements for Dillenger.
I bought one (in red), and also a retro looking flying helmet and large goggles (with Scarf!) off ebay for giggles.
Is that 45km pmpo or 5km rms
The battery is to assist with going up hills, not to make it a pseudo moped….if you don't want to pedal, buy a scooter.
wouldnt the range be ~infinite with pedal assistance??
Good point :)
… or more the question of what the definition of 'Pedal Assistance' is?!
Is the battery & motor assisting the pedals OR are the pedals assisting the battery & motor?
On my e-bike, as you pedal, there is some sort of switch down there that triggers the motor. You still feel like you're riding a bike but everything is less work.
You'd never get up a steep hill without pedalling but it's made much easier with the pedal assist.
According to the FAQ from Dillenger:
Do electric bikes charge when you peddle them?
No, this is not the purpose of having an electric bicycle. The purpose is not to have to pedal harder to charge the bike battery. Instead, the aim is to pedal less and make it easier for you to get around.
Electric bikes don’t have this feature because the effort that the rider puts in to pedaling can only go so far. Either the effort from pedaling is used to assist the bikes motion, or it could charge the battery. Unfortunately there’s no such thing as ‘free energy’ so you could image pedaling an e-bike that is also trying to charge the battery would make it very hard to pedal, as you’d be battling against the resistance of an added generator (not to mention the weight and cost) and also trying to assist the bikes motion. The most efficient use of the rider’s effort is to assist the motor in moving the bike, extended the range.
Theres heaps of free energy waiting to be tapped…
I was thinking the same, unless it disassembles itself after 45kms riding.
Depends how big your hills are?
SLA batteries in this kind of use will only deliver about half their capacity and if you use most of the available power regularly it will destroy the battery.
28km round trip not likely unless you pedal a lot and not for long as the battery dies from over discharge.
I'm looking at about 28km round trip to work
14km each way isn't far on a bicycle.
for $499 you should be able to get quite a nice hybrid bicycle and get a beneficial cardio work out as well.
14k is about 45 mins for an averagely fit cyclist… do that each way for a few months and you'll feel and look great
Agreed… 14km is a light workout… With a good hybrid or racer, it does not take long until you are outrunning electric bikes and their stupid battery packs. I see them all the time in Canberra. Only makes me want to pedal harder.
I understand if your a woman who does their hair and makeup and wants to cruise to work easily and cheaply without breaking a sweat.
Or if your in someway handicapped……But the guys I see on electric bikes… total lazy slobs…
"Only 17kg weight (very light for an e-bike) or 25kg with upgraded battery"
That's a hell of an upgrade- 8kg heavier battery- what's the story?
The story is the upgraded battery is heavy… like wtf… do you think they are going to apply a couple of AAA's to give it extended range? Its not a gameboy… its a bike moving some fat ass weighing 70-100kg.
You won't have a fat ass if you need to peddle a 25kg bike after the battery runs flat after 45 mins
Hmm, hyperbole much?
"In 2011-12, the average Australian man (18 years and over) was 175.6 cm tall and weighed 85.9 kg"….. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/4338.0main+fe…
Unfortunately I'm in the nearly 100kg camp.
the average Australian man (18 years and over) was 175.6 cm tall and weighed 85.9 kg"
That is fat. I only need to look in the mirror shirtless to confirm it.
With the added weight of an e-bike you'll need pedal assistance on a hill. Compare it with just getting a lighter bike and using your own effort. Of course heavier bikes go faster downhill ;-)
I'm not sure if you've ever actually ridden an ebike, but the power benefit greatly offsets the extra weight. That said, I would never recommend anyone to use a lead acid battery on a bicycle as they are both unreliable and unnecessarily heavy.
Galileo disproved your latter statement "heavier bikes go faster downhill" so I'm not going to say much about that…
Galileo disproved your latter statement "heavier bikes go faster downhill"
Had bicycles been invented in Galileo's day, he would have been well aware of the effects of air resistance.
Makes me wonder if Architectonic has ever ridden down a hill in a group ride. The big guys get down first :)
The standard battery is 8Ah and the upgraded battery is 12Ah- have I got that right?
At full load that's about 40 mins of juice or 16.6km unassisted
But all those photos show big batteries. What you want is a Lithium ion battery.
Horses for courses. Lithium-ion batteries are expensive, and wear out about three years after manufacture, whether you use them or not:
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/the_high_power_li…
Not particularly easy to get a replacement battery either.
Lead acid batteries, while being substantially heavier and larger for the same amount of energy, are cheap, easy to replace, and will have a much longer life if you only use them occasionally - provided you keep them charged. If you don't use a lead-acid battery, you should maintain it by charging at least every six months.
As long as it is the motor pushing the battery's extra weight around, the battery weight should not matter. A 1000cc motorbike weighs over 100kg, that doesn't make it an impractical device.
Most 1000cc bikes are over 200kg
Have you ever used a lead acid battery powered ebike?
Lead acid batteries are false economy, they have high internal resistance resulting in serious voltage drop when you draw even modest levels of current, weigh almost twice as much and stop working in 6-12 months whether you use them or not.
I've done over 12,500 km (500 recharge cycles) on my lithium ion (LiFePO4) battery pack and it still responds as new.
Lithium ion replacement batteries are not hard to get.
But if I was to buy a bike similar to the above, I'd likely just repack the battery case with a new battery management system (BMS) with lithium cells fo fix the poor performance due to the lead-acid battery pack.
Either you are using tiny lead acid batteries, or ones not designed for high current. Lead acid batteries can be designed for higher current capacity, or for higher energy-storage capacity. Higher current capacity means fewer and thicker plates in the battery, higher energy storage capacity means thinner plates and more of them.
There are loads of four-wheel buggies being used by elderly and disabled people, and these are usually powered by car batteries or smaller lead-acid batteries. There is a push to get people to buy ones with lithium batteries, but it's only because they represent a higher profit margin for the seller, and return business in a few years when the lithium battery dies. Don't buy the hype.
The most common (and usually cheapest)lead-acid battery is a car battery, which can easily supply 50 amps while staying above 10V. That's 500W, more than twice the power needed for an e-bike. While you might think a car battery is too heavy for a bike, in reality you're only adding about 20% to the existing weight of rider+bike.
As for your claim of lead acid batteries dying in under a year, car batteries easily prove you wrong there - unless you were using batteries that weren't designed for the task, or neglected to charge them.
whats the delivery charge to Melbourne?
Dunno, but it was $80 to courier to Perth.
Best off getting in touch with Dillenger, they have very good customer service and respond quickly to emails.
Yea, get in touch with them. They reduced the postage cost for me, but took longer, I think.
Hate to say it but these are a total POS, SLA (lead battery), Brushed motor, single speed and heavy, the price is about right for what it is, not a bargain though.
My folding ebike weighs 14kg with battery.
That reads awesome.
Looks ugly :) AFAIK, it should be 200W or less to be legal in NSW
From the spec on website - "Latest evolution, patented 250W high torque mid mount direct drive"
This is correct last time I checked - it's ridiculous, given that there are electric bikes out there with 2000W+ capacity.
I'll be amazed if they don't hear from Panasonic's lawyers on that one. Though the "outlaw" part of the name is relevant as it is not street-legal.
Says a lot about the seller on the site it states "EN15194 Certification" which requires 25 kph top assisted speed, and 250w continuos rating amongst other requirements.
The bike is illegal to use in any public place including parks, crown land etc.
Illegal to use, not illegal to sell
But claiming "EN15194 Certification" is the same as stating it is fully road legal.
the laws actually vary from state to state
Ridiculous location of the drive system, in the perfect position to pick up road drit from the front wheel or even get smashed coming off a ledge etc, as exposed as is possbile - the drive will foul regularly and wear unnecessarily.
also artificially inflated 'normal' price to make the reduction look bigger - they would never sell them at the supposed normal price
A colleague here has a foldable bicycle, and it cost $2k… and he has to pedal it himself! No electricity to help.
I looked on ebay and elsewhere, and even the electric push-scooters (with less power) cost at least $500.
I think $500 for a foldable electric bike is pretty damn good myself (but then again I did buy one) :)
From memory Aldi's foldaway bike is 2-300 for no electric, and no one usually undercuts them unless the undercuts the quality also. I would say the price is at least fair.
not about the price - is about the item not being worth having at any price
I'm waiting for someone to point out that even though its got pedals it doesn't need them cos its electric, right?
I bought their most basic model, the Cheetahs, a few months ago…that's right, you don't need to pedal if you don't want to. There's a throttle on the right handlebar and you use that to get the bike moving. This will drain the battery faster though. It's the only way to control the speed as well, as in you can go slower if you don't turn the throttle fully. The minute you start pedalling, the bike goes at it's maximum speed.
is this have to ride on the ROAD only?and have to wear helmet. wondering if the police will pull you over and fine you. how about this guys
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Details-about-TOMAHAWK-USA-ELECTR…
is this legal to ride?
That toy scooter is completely illegal on the road, and encourages passing cars to swerve in their direction.
Should only be used at night with black bogan clothes, no helmet and no lights, so the police don't see you.
The motorised bicycle OTOH, is legally almost like a bike, which means most of the same laws as a motorbike but no registration.
i m just scare of ride a such small bicycle on the road in a slow speed.
I never tried one of these, but isn't it kinda hard to actually sit comfortably on this and pedal, looks like you have to kind of either ride standing most of the time or your in a weird 'chopper' mobike like position, which wont do your arms or power generation on the bike any favours.
I agree with the concept of electric bike for someone who cant do a 45min commute daily on a normal bike, but end is trying to get there using a normal bike in the end after you develop some fitness. After a while 45min commute will be nothing for you.
Some people have various disabilities such that they will never be able to do a 45 minute commute without electric assistance.
Some people also want to get around for fun without getting all sweaty.
For those people an electric bicycle is ideal, though the above model is not necessarily what I'd recommend.
As for the seating position, comfort is an issue and I wouldn't recommend anyone buy any sort of bicycle without actually riding it in person and making sure it is the right size and comfortable for them.
Bought one and is completely useless, no gear and 250w hub drive is useless for uphill. 25kg is too heavy, can't even support itself going uphill with me walking beside it and throttle to the full. I will slide backward. Wheels are too small looks funny when I ride it.
More like normal price for the bike. Similar price from oo.com.au for a similar bike.
By the way they have no phone number you can call.
very interesting. The specs suggest "Range: up to 45km with pedal assistance"…..any idea roughly how long without pedal power? I'm looking at about 28km round trip to work (with hills)…